Hair Cut
by One More Time
Summary: This takes place right after the Third Hokage's funeral. I always wondered how Sasuke's got his hair cut after the Chuunin Exam :) I wouldn't really consider it romance, but SasuHina. Just an interaction between the two.


The village was quiet—as it should be. Konoha had been shell shocked the past few days and many people weren't sure what do with themselves after the Third Hokage's funeral. Puddles had formed in the streets from the rain that wept over the village during the funeral. But now the sun was shining and it seemed to put a small effect on the people filing home. Sasuke really hated funerals. It wasn't because he disliked seeing a dead body on display. It wasn't even because funerals were so sad. It was simply because he had never been to one. No one had bothered to give his parents a proper funeral. In fact, the entire Uchiha clan seemed long forgotten like it was a lost chapter in the history of Konoha.

The wind picked up, blowing the scent of wet pavement and food shops that were opening for rest of the day. The council had tried to keep shops closed on the day of the Third Hokage's funeral out of respect, but many were open because they knew that he would want them to. He would want the village to start the repair of the destruction that Orochimaru and the Sand had caused. The Third Hokage would have wanted the village to start picking up their lives and begin to move on. Sasuke's nose twitched to the sweet smells and gave a slight roll to his eyes as Naruto began to tug on Sakura's sleeve.

"Ahh, Sakura-chan! Before you go home, let's get some ramen!" He said, rubbing a finger on the gauze on his face. Naruto still sported a cheesy grin even though his heart ached inside from losing such an important person. Sasuke shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants, a look of annoyance settling into his features. They still wore the black garments from the Hokage's funeral as they slowly walked down the street. Sakura groaned.

"Naruto, now isn't the time for ramen! Out of respect, the least you can do is just go home." She said as she folded her arms across her chest irritably. Naruto's hand moved down to his rumbling belly as he said a few things under his breath about how good ramen would be.

"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing the rest of the day?" Sakura asked sweetly as she glanced in his direction. Sasuke snorted and ignored her for a moment. But he knew if he didn't say anything, they would both just tear at his sanity.

"Training," He said simply. Sakura's eyebrows furrowed as she looked down at her feet. _Training?_ She thought almost bitterly. Not only was it barely ten minutes after the Hokage's funeral, but Sasuke was in no condition to train. After failing to beat Gaara, Sasuke suffered injuries that required rest. His eyes, especially, burned and left a dull ache. Using the Sharingan too much often gave him terrible headaches, but that was the least of his worries as he was dealing with very sore muscles and joints. Mixed with over-using the Chidori, Sasuke was an overall mess. He would never let it show especially in the presence of Naruto.

"Oh. I see." Sakura said, her voice lowered with disappointment. Sasuke could see his apartment in view and began to quicken his pace. He knew that he should probably take it easy today and get some chores done, but he could feel himself falling behind in his training. Even with Kakashi by his side there was a lot left to do. He wasn't getting strong enough fast enough. A thought of Itachi crossed his mind like a lightning bolt and his brows furrowed out of anger.

"Oy, Sasuke!" He could hear Naruto's voice behind him as Sasuke reached the door leading up to his apartment. The shut of his door told Naruto and Sakura that he wanted nothing to do with them anymore today. Sakura bit her lip and thought of the curse mark that Sasuke kept hidden so well. She knew that at some point it would come back to haunt them.

"So, Sakura-chan," Naruto mused, awakening her from her thoughts. She narrowed her eyes as he pleaded for her to get ramen with him.

"Naruto!" Her voice warned him that he was on thin ice. Sasuke could hear them bicker outside as he walked up the stairs to his room. With a roll of his eyes, he began to change into clothes more suitable for training. Picking up his forehead protector, he stared at it for a moment before putting it on. Even though he would never admit it, it felt weird when he wasn't wearing it. Sasuke glanced over to his window. It would be best to avoid anyone outside. He needed the space away from everyone in this village, knowing that emotions run wild after a funeral. It wasn't that Sasuke didn't respect the Third Hokage. He was indeed saddened at his passing, but Sasuke had learned to cope with loss much differently than anyone else had. One just shouldn't grieve. Some might say that would be the remaining Uchiha's flaw. Sasuke had learned to turn his anger, his sorrow, and his loss into strength by training. Instead of curling up under his blankets and letting the tears flow out of view from his peers, he would lose himself in a good training session. Crying never brought back his parents, and it wouldn't bring back the Third Hokage.

Sasuke slid open his window, and jumped out to a branch in a tree. He followed the branches going from tree to tree. His destination, of course, was the training grounds. With the Hokage's passing, no one should be there so this was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of a whole training area all to himself. A sharp pain rocketed through his skull and he was forced to stop on a branch and shut his eyes desperately. Everything hurt. It was something he was used to; however it was a different kind of hurt. It was his body telling him to seriously _stop. _Stop and rest. Sasuke peeked from behind an eyelid as sun light danced between the leaves of the trees. A normal person would listen to what their body was telling them, but Sasuke never cared for that. He had goals and wanted them to be met. There was no gray area—you either DO or you DON'T.

With a grunt, Sasuke continued even with the protest of his muscles until a clearing emerged in front of him. He could see the wooden dummies, shuriken targets, and best of all there wasn't a soul in sight. He jumped down on the solid ground, and glanced around delicately. The ache behind his eyes felt a little better, but he wasn't going to work on his jutsu today. Sasuke felt the breeze blow back the hair that surrounded his face. His hair had gotten long; too long for that matter. His training with Kakashi before the Chuunin exam went uninterrupted so the ability to take care of himself went out the window. He reached into the pouch attached to his leg and pulled out a few kunai. With that, Sasuke began to slowly get into the basics of training with the shuriekens and kunais. Even if it wasn't hard core training with jutsu, it was more or less just something to get the frustrations out.

The sound of metal clinking together filled the training area as Sasuke began to get into the rhythm of jumping, throwing, and concentrating on the targets. The wind had picked up, and kept getting his long hair into eyes. Sometimes strands would even find their way into his open mouth as he ran. It was beginning to seriously piss him off. The hair had to go—at least some of it. Sasuke stopped his training and ran a hand through his hair. _Too damn long. _He plopped down with his back against a wooden dummy and caught his breath. He couldn't concentrate because his hair was getting in his way, and if he couldn't concentrate then there was almost no point in training. Out of frustration, he ripped off his forehead protector and threw it on the ground in front of him. Cutting his own hair wasn't anything new to him, but he _hated_ doing it. Sasuke looked up at the dummy behind him and grabbed a kunai knife that he had thrown earlier. He brought it up to a lock of hair and thought for a moment. _A mirror._

The sun peeked out from behind a left over rain cloud, and the gleam from his forehead protector caught his attention. _That'll have to work. _Sasuke got to his feet and grabbed it from the ground. It was scratched to hell and had smudges from sweat and dirt. A groan escaped from his throat as he fell like a sack of potatoes against the dummy again. _This will be interesting._ Who knows what kind of job he would do and for a split second he thought of just cutting it all off. He stared at his reflection in the forehead protector after he had cleaned it off with his shirt. Sasuke could see how tired his eyes looked, but he ignored it, and looked at his hair. This probably wasn't the best mirror, seeing as his face was a little distorted. He brought the kunai knife up to a lock of hair and hesitated.

"E-Excuse me," A small voice interrupted his thoughts as he exhaled irritably. He looked up, but had to shield his eyes from the sun to see who came to steal his precious training grounds from him. The voice was definitely a girl, but it wasn't Sakura. This voice was much less confident and at first he wasn't sure if he had heard anything at all. Hyuuga Hinata stood before him, still wearing her outfit from the funeral. Sasuke frowned, watching her writhe her hands.

"What do you want? This area is taken. Go somewhere else." Sasuke said, his eyes squinting at bit in pain as he tried to concentrate on his reflection. Hinata bit her lower lip for a moment. She cursed herself slightly for even bringing attention to herself. Hinata knew of the Uchiha clan, and she knew of Sasuke. They grew up taking classes at the academy together, but aside from that, nothing about him really stood out in her mind. All the other girls would swoon and hang on to every cold word that came out of his mouth. But she never understood _why_. Uchiha Sasuke was rude, distant, and she honestly didn't see what everyone else saw in him.

Of course she would never say that out loud. Hinata was kind and even though Sasuke was the way he was, she felt sorry for him. He was all alone. She smoothed the black skirt over her legs, and peered down at him, her cheeks growing warm. Hinata had watched him from a distance before she approached him. She had come here to the training grounds to think and reflect after the funeral. It was far enough out of the village that she felt at ease, but close enough to still hear the hustle and bustle.

"Oh! Um, I-I'm sorry," She muttered, looking away from him out nervously. "I'm not here to train, a-and I don't mean to interrupt."

"Well you are, so either spit it out or go somewhere else." Sasuke said, holding the kunai knife in his hand. He knew nothing of her, except that she was a Hyuuga. He barely even noticed, or cared, that they grew up in the same class all these years. Hinata chewed on her lower lip, and bowed her head slightly.

"I just…" She stopped and tried to figure out what words to say. "I s-saw you were about to cut your hair." Hinata smiled gently, her lavender eyes gazing at the Uchiha. Sasuke sighed, closed his eyes, and rubbed his forehead. There was silence, and Hinata wasn't sure if he was going to say anything or she should just leave him be.

"Do you know how to cut hair?" He uttered.

"U-Um sort of."

"You either do or you don't." Sasuke said, patience faltering in his voice. Hinata took note of that and looked away embarrassed.

"I've cut hair with scissors, b-but not with a kunai knife." She said, remembering when her cousins would need haircuts, although it was only a few times before her uncles caught on to the terrible job she did.

"Cut my hair." Sasuke said flatly as he looked up at her once more. Aside from her eyes, he never really noticed her. She wasn't skinny like Sakura or Ino who were constantly obsessing over their weight; she wasn't chubby either. She wasn't loud. In fact, he often forgot about her because she was so quiet. Hinata looked like a normal girl and that was nothing special to Sasuke.

"W-Wha…are you s-sure?" Hinata stammered and she took a step back. Yes, she could cut hair but it certainly wasn't up to par…especially for someone she hardly knew. _Especially_ for Uchiha Sasuke. He frowned at her response, and looked back at his reflection. Obviously he would have to do this on his own. Not even responding to her, he lifted the kunai knife to a strand of his long hair.

"A-Ah…I'll do it." She squeaked, knowing she would at least do a better job than he would. He stopped and looked up at her. A small smirk crept onto his lips, which made her blush in embarrassment. _He's mocking me._ Sasuke tossed the kunai in the air so the handle of it was presented to Hinata, while the blade rested in his hand. She chewed nervously on her lip before she carefully took it from him. Hinata awkwardly knelt down in front of him as he sat there. It wasn't going to work well unless she got a little close.

"What are you waiting for?" Sasuke asked with some annoyance in his voice. Even though his features were blank, he was amused watching her fret.

"Um… W-Well, I just need more to get closer." She gulped. "So that way, it will be even."

"Hnn." Sasuke could care less if it was even, but he uncrossed his legs so she could get a little closer. This terrified Hinata. She could barely allow Kiba to correct her stance in training, let alone be near Naruto. Beat red, Hinata scooted closer to Sasuke. The kunai knife suddenly felt heavy in her hand and her palms were sweating. Boy, if anyone happened to be walking by, it would be the strangest sight. She took a deep breath and told herself to concentrate on the task at hand—and that was to trim up Sasuke's hair. With some confidence mustered up, Hinata reached out to grab a lock of his hair. It was full of dirt and kind of sweaty… all the more reason for a trim. With the other hand, she brought the kunai knife up to begin. Suddenly, she felt his hand wrapped around her wrist tightly. Out of surprise, she yelped.

"Calm down. Your hand is shaking and I don't need you taking my eye out." He said sharply. Sasuke stared into her eyes, and frowned. Hinata bit her lip and nodded. With her hand free again, she steadied the kunai and began to trim the hair around his face. Sasuke watched as small locks of hair fell, and he studied her face. Her brows were furrowed out of concentration, her cheeks were flushed, and she chewed on her lip. Although there was nothing special about this girl, there was something there. She at least didn't hang on his arm, pleading him to go out with her.

"Hyuuga," He said and she stopped.

"Y-Yes?"

"The Byukugan… when you over use it does it make your head hurt?" Sasuke asked because he had always been curious. The Hyuuga Clan and the Uchiha clan never got along, but they shared a similar jutsu. The wind picked up again and it blew loose lock of hair down the field. Her scent of lavender and vanilla crept into his nose.

"Um… yes." Hinata put the kunai down and made sure the hair was even. It was, for the most part, and she breathed a sigh of relief. It looked much better. Sasuke felt her run her small fingers through his hair, and it sent shivers down his spine. They sat in silence again, as she touched up a few things.

"Do you…want me to trim the back too?" Hinata asked. She felt a bit more confident about it since she didn't screw up the front part. Sasuke thought for a moment—it was fine, as long as it didn't get in his way during training. But he knew that it would look stupid if she didn't, so he nodded. Hinata sat back so Sasuke could turn around.

"On missions, and even during training, s-sometimes I get painful headaches," She continued as she observed the back of Sasuke's head. Hinata picked a leaf out of his dark blue hair, and began to slowly trim it down. He listened quietly, and lost himself in thought. There were so many limitations to using the Sharingan, yet so many things could be done with it as well. Sasuke frowned and closed his eyes. Silly things like headaches weren't going to stop him from his goals.

"M-My father said that if we're not careful… there's a chance we could lose our eye sight." Hinata said, noting Sasuke's silence. He opened his eyes and the words 'lose our eye sight' echoed in his mind. Now _that_ would make things difficult. Another shiver shot down his spine as she gently ran her small fingers through the back of his hair. Loose strands floated away in the breeze and he watched them disappear. Hinata glanced at the job she had done and smiled triumphantly to herself.

"A-Ah… all done." Hinata said quietly. Sasuke ran his own fingers through his hair and he suddenly felt lighter. Now came for the hard part…saying thank you. He was good at many things, excelled in many jutsus and techniques. But Sasuke _wasn't_ good at the little things, like saying thank you or saying good-bye. So he ignored the fact that he owed her gratitude because he could have done it himself. He _should _have done it himself. Sasuke got to his feet and brushed dirt and loose hair off his shirt and shorts. Hinata stood up with him and patted dirt from her knees. He held out his hand and stared at her. She stopped brushing her clothes and looked at his hand. For a moment, she thought about taking his hand… just to see how soft his skin was.

"I need my kunai back to keep training." Sasuke said, even though he had plenty in his pouch. Hinata felt her cheeks grow warm at the misunderstanding.

"O-Oh, sorry," She said and handed him the kunai. Hinata looked at him, and smiled. She did a much better job than she thought she would at trimming his hair. Confidence could go a long way, she noted to herself. He still stared at her, almost curiously. Why was she still here? Hinata could feel him staring at her while she studied a hang nail on her finger. It bothered her, so she looked up and gave him a small smile. She still thought he was rude, since he never said "thank you". But Hinata looked at him differently, and this time she didn't feel sorry for him. She actually knew the loneliness he felt inside. Obviously, she had her entire family and clan surrounded by her day and night, but she felt as if she was alone. Her father especially made her feel this way.

"U-Um good bye, Sasuke-kun." Hinata turned and started to walk away. Sasuke watched her walk away. He snorted to himself before turning around to face the wooden dummy again. Hinata let out a sigh of relief as her cheeks began to turn a normal color again.

"Thank you." It sounded strange on his tongue as he said flatly. Sasuke wasn't even sure if she could even hear it from where she was at. Hinata's heart fluttered at the words. She thought about looking back, but instead she'd let him keep his pride by pretending not to hear. A smile crept across her lips as she held back a small laugh.


End file.
